“I’d say they are one of the better teams in Europe but right at the top level? I don’t think so.”

Lahm believes Arsenal will play all-out attack at the Allianz Arena tonight which will play into Bayern’s hands as he predicted there will be no English teams in the quarter-finals for the first time since 1996.

“They have to pressure us and we can play on the counterattack,” he said.

“It is a surprise to have no English teams in the quarter-finals. They have a strong league and have gone far in the past but a lot of teams have caught up. We are here, Dortmund are here.”

Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes believes that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is one of the best coaches in the world, but even he cannot cope with the club selling their best players.

He said: “Arsene is a very creative manager, producing almost fantasy football year after year. His teams play attractive football but maybe not the most successful football.

“ If you look at the last two years, you have to say that the absolute top players he has had have been transferred to other clubs.”